Thematic Essay on the “The Open Boat”

Emily Cho '27

“Shipwreck” by Eugène Isabey (Wikimedia Commons)

Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat” captures the crucial role of collective strength in survival when faced with nature’s indifference through the four crew members, including the captain, the oiler, the cook, and the correspondent, enduring through a harsh journey on a boat to eventual reaching of the shore. Through their shared purpose and struggle, unspoken dependence, and mutual sacrifice, Crane illustrates how human connection can be a source of strength during the face of adversity. As the four men struggle against the relentless ocean, their strongly forging bond reflects a central theme: The collective strength and resilience is what eventually reaches us to survival, even in the overwhelming odds of nature.

In times of extreme adversities, the strength of human connection functions as a powerful drive for survival which is demonstrated through the strong companionship forged between the crew members in “The Open Boat”. For example, the narrator reflects on their relationship by stating: “No one mentioned it. But it was on the boat, and each man felt it warm him…they were friends—friends in a more strangely ironbound strength than may be ordinary”(Crane, Pg 4). This passage captures the crew’s knowledge of the shared bond among them without having to say it and the unspoken mutual reliance on each other which is shown through the fact that although nobody mentioned it, each man felt it in their hearts. The ‘ironbound strength than may be ordinary’ shows that they developed their unique camaraderie by overcoming constant struggles together and having the same palpable purpose of surviving out of the sea. The secure bond established among them can be inferred from the passage that it was more than friendship- it was a bond formed in the most extreme circumstances- where their stake of survival heavily depended on mutual trust and reliance. This passage closely resembles my own experience of hiking Mount Halla with my entire dormitory at KIS on February to meet the requirements of our P.E. project. Faced with cold, rainy conditions and ill-prepared for the harsh weather with no raincoat, umbrella, or any protection against the cold and rain, we were forced to rely on the shared support of the group. We endured through the situation by sharing chocolate and looking after one another. When we huddled together to eat lunch and didn’t have the chopsticks to eat our ramen, other hikers, who were strangers to us, kindly offered theirs. Without their generosity, not only we would have lacked the energy to reach the summit, but also would have been forced to skip lunch- showing that survival cannot be achieved individually but only through collective strength.

Key factors of the crew’s survival is not only based on their collective effort but also the selflessness and deep care that shows in their interactions. The captain, despite being physically exhausted and emotionally drained, prioritizes the conditions of his own men- “I wish we had a sail,” remarked the captain. “We might try my coat on the end of an oar. It would give you two boys a chance to rest”(Crane, Pg 4). The suggestion of using his coat as a makeshift sail to let the crew members rest shows his selflessness and concern for the conditions of his men that constantly rowed instead of his own well-being. The captain’s consideration for his crew that focuses on the group’s collective survival rather than himself highlights his understanding that the strength of the group depends on every individual’s ability to recover and endure. Similarly, during my hike up Mount Halla, it was the selfless actions of those around me that enabled the group to continue. In addition, after the hike, everyone was completely soaked in the rain after more than 4 hours of hiking with no protection against the cold, and the arriving van only had four remaining seats. However, my roommate selflessly yielded the seat for me despite knowing that the second van would not arrive for another hour, allowing me to return to the warm, safe dormitory first. Without her generous act, I would have likely caught a cold the next day, as many others did.

Finally, the survival of the crew members would have been impossible by themselves with collective strength being essential. Specifically, this example is evident when the correspondent ,unable to stand due to severe exhaustion despite being in shallow water, is rescued by a stranger: “The correspondent arrived in water that reached only to his chest, but his condition did not enable him to stand for more than a moment. Each wave pushed him down again. Then he saw the running man come leaping into the water. He dragged ashore the cook; and then went toward the captain; but the captain motioned him away and sent him to the correspondent. The man gave a strong pull, a long drag, and a big push. The correspondent said, “Thanks, old man.””(Crane, Pg 15). This quote highlights that even when one is close to safety, individual resilience may be insufficient for the achievement of survival, and it is the intervention of others- whether crewmates or strangers -that eventually leads them to survival. Thus, this quote reinforces the theme that survival is never a solidarity achievement but is shaped by collective effort and mutual support. This connects to my experience of completing the hiking of Mount Halla in only 4 hours and a half despite the harsh weather conditions, on the entire trail spanning 9.6km and taking 9 hours to finish. Looking back on the experience, I would have never finished the trail without my friends, and it was the secure bond and the support that we provided to one another that made the completion of the entire hiking possible. 

To sum up, the central theme of “Open Boat” is that in the face of overwhelming adversity, human survival is bound to the collective strength and selflessness of those who share the same struggle. Both the “Open Boat” and my personal experience of hiking Mount Halla on extreme conditions reveals that even in the middle of the most perilous circumstances, it is the unspoken bonds of trust, sacrifice, cand shared purpose that enables the individuals to endure, eventually leading to the survival of the crew against the odds of nature.

Works Cited

Crane, Stephen. The Open Boat. U.S. Department of State, American English, https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/the-open-boat.pdf.